Voting got off to a late start in several districts yesterday after the biometric voter-identification equipment repeatedly malfunctioned, a development that was officially confirmed by Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC).
Across Nsanje, Mchinji, Nkhata Bay, Chiradzulu and Blantyre, electoral officers scrambled to switch to manual back-ups and extend polling hours.
In Nsanje, where roughly 147 500 registered voters were expected to turn up, some centres only began processing ballots around 6:45am when they should have officially started at 6am.
District elections officer Stanley Masala confirmed multiple reports of failed devices and instructed presiding officers to revert to manual verification until the machines were repaired.
In Mchinji West, presiding officer for Chapanama Primary School Dorothy Mgemezulu said connectivity glitches caused a brief delay but technicians quickly resolved them quickly to allow proceed smoothly.
But in Mchinji South at Waliranji Primary School they agreed to close at 5pm after persistent network outages prevented the biometric gadgets from operating.
Nkhata Bay also experienced setbacks at Admarc Polling Centre where voting only began at 6:52am after an hour’s delay due to equipment mulfunction.
In Chiradzulu, spot checks at Mafe Primary School and other centres revealed 30-minute delays due to technical faults. Polling centre presiding officer Phillip Sumbuleta said experts were called in to reboot the system, allowing voting to start shortly after 6 am.
Delays to set up biometric voter verification devices also disrupted the start of voting in some polling stations in Blantyre such as Nkolokoti Primary School, Makhetha Market and Mapanga-Mpingwe-Mzedi Constituency.
Election authorities assured voters that they would extend voting hours and use manual verification to safeguard everyone’s right to vote.
Additional reporting by Martin Gela Jr., Zondani Mbale and Wisdom Chirombo
A voter attempts to use Biometric machine at Nanjiriri Polling Centre. | James Chavula
